BT's FMC service : now a more serious challenge to cellular

Stuart Corner
Sunday, 14 January 2007 10:07

Your IT - Mobility

At launch BT's fixed mobile convergence offering, BT Fusion, simply enabled customers to avoid cellular tariffs when making calls from their homes, using bluetooth and ADSL. Now, with the addition of cellular/WiFi handsets they can use BT's expanding network of public WiFi hotspots to avoid cellular rates.

BT has an extensive network of hotspots, BT OpenZone, and plans to build a first phase of 12 wireless cities  by the end of March 2008 which it says, "means that most of the UK's major city centres will soon offer widespread Wi-Fi coverage.

BT customers using OpenZone with their laptops for normal WiFi data have access to over 10,000 hotspots in the UK. However, the majority of these are operated by roaming partners. BT Fusion customers will be able to use their handsets  only at BT operated hotspots of which there are about 2000.

BT first introduced cellular/WiFi handsets to Fusion in September 2006 when it launched the corporate version.  However this service offered WiFi access only within a company's premises. Outside the office the handsets initially used cellular but hotspot access was introduced for this service in December. BT does not own a cellular network, but resells the Vodafone service.

BT will initially offer three handsets: yhe Nokia 6136, Motorola A910 and Samsung P200. Importantly, these will sold on the high street through over 400 Phones4u stores across the UK, a first for Fusion handsets.